New Jersey holds 102 occurrence records for the southern flying squirrel, split between iNaturalist and GBIF. For a strictly nocturnal glider that almost never crosses a trail in daylight, that’s a reasonable haul, and it says as much about trail cameras and porch lights as about how many squirrels are actually gliding overhead.
From Pine Barrens oak-pine to a coastal holly forest
New Jersey’s confirmed range for this squirrel reaches from the oak-pine woods of Brendan T. Byrne State Forest deep in the Pine Barrens out to the maritime holly forest at Island Beach State Park, a stand of old hardwoods holding on within an otherwise open landscape of dune and salt marsh on the barrier peninsula. Both settings offer what the species actually needs: old trees with cavities, usually former woodpecker holes, to den and raise young in. It’s less about which forest type New Jersey has than about whether that forest still has standing dead wood worth denning in.
Active every night, all year
Flying squirrel records here show no strong seasonal peak, and that fits an animal that stays active through every month rather than shutting down for winter. In cold weather, several individuals will often share a single tree cavity, huddling together to conserve body heat rather than denning alone. That habit, combined with strictly nocturnal habits, likely explains why so few of New Jersey’s named hotspot locations carry more than a single logged sighting. This is a squirrel built to go unnoticed even in places where it turns up often.
Status in New Jersey
NatureServe ranks the southern flying squirrel S5, secure, in New Jersey, and the species is native to the state. It persists wherever the state’s forests, from the Pine Barrens to the barrier-island holly stands, still hold old trees with cavities to den in.
